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House of Lords forecasts switch from broadcast TV to online

A new report from the House of Lords has urged the government to be prepared to switch broadcast content to online channels.

The major terrestrial broadcasters in the UK already offer online platforms that allow people to view shows on the internet, but peers have predicted that all content may need to be moved to the web in future, reported dailymail.co.uk.

What this means for people in broadcast jobs is not yet clear, as the programmes will still be in demand but the method of transmitting them to viewers could change. The House of Lords parliamentary committee suggested that the broadcasting spectrum currently used for television may be better utilised for high speed mobile phone services.

According to tvtechnology.com, the Communications Committee produced the ‘Broadband for All – An Alternative Vision’ report to secure the long-term future of internet services in the UK.

A passage from the report read: “We recommend that the government, Ofcom and the industry begin to consider the desirability of the transfer of terrestrial broadcast content from spectrum to the internet and the consequent switching off of broadcast transmission over spectrum, and in particular what the consequences of this might be and how we ought to begin to prepare.”

Lord Inglewood, committee chairman, pointed out that if television services are moved to the internet, this would place even greater importance on delivering effective internet services for the whole country.